The subject invention relates to an apparatus for recording a transaction; the transaction including authentication of an identification card. The identification card contains information pertaining to an object or other entity to be identified on a first portion of the card in human recognizable form, and a coded representation of an encrypted signal comprising a representation of the information on a second portion of the card. Such a card is disclosed and claimed in the above mentioned, commonly assigned U.S. patent application.
The problem of proving the identity, status or characteristics of a person or other object or entity is ancient. Both history and fiction are full of tales of passwords, tokens, signet rings, etc. intended to prove identity, and the consequences which followed from their loss. In more recent times highly sophisticated instruments which measure fingerprints, voice prints, retinal patterns and the like to identify individuals have been developed. While very useful where a high degree of security is required the expense, complexity, and need for such systems to access a database of characteristics of persons to be recognized, and the need to secure and continually update this database has limited such systems to applications such as controlling access to extremely sensitive areas.
Thus, the most common form for proving the identity of a person is the identification card. Typically, such an identification card will include information about the identity, status or characteristics of the person authorized to process the card, and may include some means, such as a seal, to reduce the possibility of forgery. (As used herein the term "identification card" is intended to include not only typical identification cards and similar items such as drivers licenses and employee badges, but is also intended to include any item which may be suitably carried by a person or associated with an object or other entity to be identified, and which is capable of containing information pertaining to such a person, object or other entity and a coded representation of an encrypted signal comprising a representation of such information.)
In addition, to establishing the identity, status or other characteristics of a person or other object or entity, it is frequently desirable to establish that someone or something was in a particular place at a particular time. For example, a police officer might wish to establish that a motorist or other person had been stopped at a particular place and time, the immigration service of a country might wish to establish that a person had entered or left the country at a particular inspection point at a particular time, or an inspection or testing facility might wish to establish that a particular object had been delivered at a particular time.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide an apparatus for recording a transaction including authentication of an identification card.